Introduction to Baguazhang


Book Description

This clear, step-by-step guide to the fundamentals of Bagua Zhang lays out the principles, practices, and underlying philosophy of this cerebral and sophisticated Chinese internal martial art. Leading readers from the most basic precepts of Bagua Zhang practice to advanced techniques, Kent Howard draws on his deep understanding of the art and his decades of teaching to set students on a path toward mastery. While Bagua Zhang is often perceived as a complex martial art that is difficult to learn, Howard breaks it down into clear and easily absorbed principles and exercises that beginners can master and incorporate into higher levels of practice at their own pace. Numerous easy-to-follow photographs illustrate core practices such as circle-walking, post standing, and palm changes, as well as foundandational techniques of posture and alignment, fluid motion, generating whole-body power, absorbing and redirecting energy, striking while in motion, and much more. In addition to providing a solid foundation for a lifetime practice, Bagua Zhang Fundamentals also offers more advanced practitioners valuable tips on how to increase their knowledge and understanding of this multifaceted martial art.




Hidden in Plain Sight


Book Description

Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts has been groundbreaking. In Dueling with O-sensei, he challenged practitioners that the moral dimension of martial arts is expressed in acts of integrity, not spiritual platitudes and the deification of fantasized warrior-sages. In Old School, he applied both academic rigor and keen observation towards some of the classical martial arts of Japan, leavening his writing with vivid descriptions of many of the actual practitioners of these wonderful traditions. His first edition of Hidden in Plain Sight was a discussion of esoteric training methods once common, but now all but lost within Japanese martial arts. These methodologies encompassed mental imagery, breath-work, and a variety of physical techniques, offering the potential to develop skills and power sometimes viewed as nearly superhuman. Usually believed to be the provenance of Chinese martial arts, Amdur asserted that elements of such training still remain within a few martial traditions: literally, 'hidden in plain sight.' Two-thirds larger, this second edition is so much more. Amdur digs deep into the past, showing the complexity of human strength, its adaptation to varying lifestyles, and the nature of physical culture pursued for martial ends. Amdur goes into detail concerning varieties of esoteric power training within martial arts, culminating in a specific methodology known as 'six connections' or 'internal strength.' With this discussion as a baseline, he then discusses the transfer of esoteric power training from China to various Japanese jujutsu systems as well as Japanese swordsman-ship emanating from the Kurama traditions. Finally, he delves into the innovative martial tradition of Daito-ryu and its most important offshoot, aikido, showing how the mercurial, complicated figures of Takeda Sokaku and Morihei Ueshiba were less the embodiment of something new, than a re-imagining of their past.




The Spiral Notebook


Book Description

The diary of Billie Bettis is supremely surprising. When we read her Diary, chronicling the events at the time, we were shocked that this story was never revealed over the years since we have known them. Her diary sat idle for years in a trunk and with it her heart, feelings and emotions. The dust covered spiral notebook never known nor revealed to anyone, until her husband ,Terry, discovered it and sent us a copy to read. What was revealed inside will be alarming and eye opening for all readers. Wife Carole and I have known Billie and her husband, Terry, for more than a two generations. We count Billie as a wonderful friend, but never figured this 95 pound swizzle stick of a woman to be a tower of strength. Her extraordinary strength and commitment to GOD shines through in her discovered Diary.




Martial Arts Studies


Book Description

This book disrupts disciplinary boundaries to make a case for the future direction and growth of martial arts studies as a unique field




Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Techniques


Book Description

Learn devastating mixed martial arts techniques from all over the world with this expert guide. Superb fighting skills are essential in all sorts of situations and can save your life if you are attacked. Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Techniques is a complete how-to manual for the modern fighter, presenting a detailed overview of all the best MMA fighting techniques and the various situations in which they can be used. Comprehensive and well laid-out, with hundreds of tips such as grappling your way into a dominant kesa-gatame position to force your adversary's submission or knowing when to fight "dirty" to attack your opponent's vulnerabilities, this manual will give you a leg-up for everything from a no-holds-barred street fight to the regimented rules of fighting in the ring. With over 700 color photos and downloadable instructional video that clearly demonstrate all the right moves, this book gives you the winning edge you need! Use Western boxing and Muay Thai techniques to move out of harm's way as you deliver a devastating array of attacks Use Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA techniques to escape holds and move into dominant positions Use modern streetfighting techniques Use Filipino knife-fighting techniques And much more!




Jade City


Book Description

In this World Fantasy Award-winning novel of magic and kungfu, four siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis. *Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time ​* World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for -- and for centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now, the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon's bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation. When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone -- even foreigners -- wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones -- and of Kekon itself. Praise for Jade City: "An epic drama reminiscent of the best classic Hong Kong gangster films but set in a fantasy metropolis so gritty and well-imagined that you'll forget you're reading a book." --Ken Liu, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning author "A beautifully realized setting, a great cast of characters, and dramatic action scenes. What a fun, gripping read!" --Ann Leckie, Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author "An instantly absorbing tale of blood, honor, family and magic, spiced with unexpectedly tender character beats." --NPR The Green Bone Saga Jade City Jade War Jade Legacy




Taiji Notebook for Martial Artists


Book Description

"Taiji Notebook for Martial Artists, Essays by a Yang Family Taijiquan Practitioner" by Scott M. Rodell is a highly readable and informative account of the author's realizations and understandings, internal and martial, acquired over decades of committed study. Rodell eloquently addresses and explains many of the subtle sticking points that he has experienced in practice and that other practitioners frequently encounter in their training. The gems found in this book will prove to be an invaluable resource for any t'ai chi chuan practitioner who wishes to deepen their understanding and experience of the art.




BJJ Notebook


Book Description

If you don't know the answers to these questions... You need the BJJ Notebook!- What did you learn last week?- Can you remember that awesome class from last month?- How many times did you win or lose during the past 12 months?- What submissions caused you to lose more often than others? - Can you list all techniques that you learned in the last seminar?- How many points did you score in your last tournament?- What does your instructor recommend that you focus on?- What do you need to improve TODAY?"This is the first non-instructional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu book ever published and it is the most important to have because it's the only one about YOU".Helio Gracie, one of the founding fathers of Jiu-Jitsu, said that "BJJ is for everyone." People will try and quit BJJ for a variety of reasons beyond a BJJ school's control. However, no one should quit BJJ because they didn't have every opportunity to succeed. There is no "one-size-fits-all" BJJ. Every student will receive and internalize the lessons of BJJ in a unique way and create their own personalized version of BJJ. This is one of the beautiful aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Each student has the opportunity to access the infinite variety and richness of BJJ and create their own work of art that becomes part of their person. There are precious few things in life that can claim to provide such a wholesome and rewarding benefit.A BJJ notebook serves the practical purpose of a training log helping to remember all of the different moves that were taught over previous weeks, months and years. In BJJ, one can go years without seeing the same move taught twice. If a move is taught by an instructor and then quickly forgotten, how is that different from never having learned it in the first place?This BJJ notebook is the first BJJ JOURNAL, which was designed to make the most out of the beginning steps in what is hopefully a long and fruitful BJJ journey. Encouraging the use of the BJJ notebook is one of the ways a BJJ school can make the BJJ journey more accessible to those willing to put in the effort. It can serve as a basis to promote discussion and interaction among students about issues they are facing and allow students to learn from each other. The martial arts journey will still take enormous work and dedication. However, the BJJ notebook should at least provide a mechanism to help focus the student's effort to get the most of the BJJ experience.




The Invention of Martial Arts


Book Description

"The Invention of Martial Arts examines the media history of what we now call 'martial arts' and argues that martial arts is a cultural construction that was born in film, TV and other media. It argues that 'martial arts' exploded into popular consciousness entirely thanks to the work of media. Of course, the book does not deny the existence of real, material histories and non-media dimensions in martial arts practices. But it thoroughly recasts the status of such histories, combining recent myth-busting findings in historical martial arts research with important insights into the discontinuous character of history, the widespread 'invention of tradition', the orientalism and imagined geographies that animate many ideas about history, and the frequent manipulation of history for reasons of status, cultural capital, private or public power, politics, and/or financial gain. In doing so, The Invention of Martial Arts argues for the primacy of media representation as key player in the emergence and spread of martial arts. This argument overturns the dominant belief that 'real practices' are primary, while representations are secondary. The book makes its case via historical analysis of the British media history of such Eastern and Western martial arts as Bartitsu, jujutsu, judo, karate, tai chi and MMA across a range of media, from newspapers, comics and books to cartoon, film and TV series, as well as television adverts and music videos, focusing on key but often overlooked texts such as adverts for 'Hai Karate', the 1970s disco hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', and many other mainstream and marginal media texts"--




Martial Arts and Well-being


Book Description

Martial Arts and Well-Being explores how martial arts as a source of learning can contribute in important ways to health and well-being, as well as provide other broader social benefits. Using psychological and sociological theory related to behaviour, ritual, perception and reality construction, the book seeks to illustrate, with empirical data, how individuals make sense of and perceive the value of martial arts in their lives. This book draws on data from over 500 people, across all age ranges, and powerfully demonstrates that participating in martial arts can have a profound influence on the construction of behaviour patterns that are directly linked to lifestyle and health. Making individual connections regarding the benefits of practice, improvements to health and well-being – regardless of whether these improvements are ‘true’ in a medical sense – this book offers an important and original window into the importance of beliefs to health and well-being as well as the value of thinking about education as a process of life-long learning. This book will be of great interest to a range of audiences, including researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in sports and exercise psychology, martial art studies and health and well-being. It should also be of interest to sociologists, social workers and martial arts practitioners. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315448084, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.